Packs

Settings for where you drive. The US settings are built in; packs for other places are made and maintained by the people who drive there.

What a pack is

Most of what makes a scanner fit one place is reference data, not code: what each radio band is used for, which frequencies tyre sensors and remotes use, which camera and fleet makers are common, and whether speeds read in mph or km/h. A pack is one small JSON file holding that data.

• On the phone it sets the units, adds local device rules, and switches off rules that don't apply there.
• On a companion Pi it replaces the US band names with local ones and sets the sub-GHz frequencies for tyre sensors and remotes.

Wavelens has no internet permission, and packs don't change that: you get the file, put it on the phone and import it yourself.

Use one on your phone

1. Put the pack's .json file on the phone (download it, or save it from an email).
2. In Wavelens open More → Signature packs and tap Import pack…
3. Pick the file. The app shows what the pack contains before anything changes; tap Install and use.

The same screen lists every pack on the phone. Built-in is always there and is the default; switching is one tap, and Remove deletes an imported pack. Packs need the Wavelens update from November 2026 or later.

Use one on a companion Pi

The Pi bridge reads the same file:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/wavelens/packs
sudo cp xx.json /etc/wavelens/packs/
sudo systemctl restart wavelens-bridge

The phone tells the bridge which pack is in use every time it connects. If the bridge doesn't have that pack it keeps the US band names and says so on the phone's companion screen. ESP32 companions don't need a pack.

Follow local law

Make sure you follow the laws where you drive. In many places detecting some devices is an offence: radar and speed-camera detectors, for example, are banned in many countries and states, and some laws cover any device that detects speed-measuring equipment. Wavelens cannot receive radar or laser, and a pack must switch off rules for anything that is unlawful to detect where it applies. Using a pack doesn't change what is legal for you.

Make or improve a pack

Packs live in the packs folder of the public repository, with a template, the format and a checker that runs the same tests as the app. Step by step: how to make, share and import packs. To make one for where you drive, copy the template, fill it in from your regulator's spectrum plan and what you see on the road, and open a pull request. Prefer email? Send us where you drive, your phone and any companion hardware, and we'll help you start one.